Feast of War
by DarthZaDr
Summary: Enticed towards the great war by the hate, Zero Two watches on from high above, unaware that he too is being watched. Art prize for Twistanturnu on deviantArt


_Such destruction . . .  
_  
It saturated the air; a giant fist closed itself around the whole of Dream Land and engulfed the whole world in darkness. On the planets below demon-beasts sang the anthem of war to which the noble and legendary Star Warriors danced to, driving their blades deep into the heart of chaos and spraying blood and venom into the sky.  
Watching over all beside the stars' gaze, Zero Two lingered. He feasted upon the discord and drank deep of the battle cries. He ate and drank up the hatred spilled by war and he wondered, _Nova, might there be seconds?_

Oh, how the destruction called to him; Zero Two was but a fly enticed in by the sickly-sweet honey of death. The hatred nourished his heart – or whatever it was that kept him alive – and filled him to the brim with evil. A delicious feast, no question about it. Zero grinned inwardly with the sudden desire to get closer to the blood bath. Such divine juices were, after all, savored with a greater air of danger.

"My, my, dinner _and_ a show. Someone likes my chessboard."

Zero spun around, his gaze suddenly seething with rage, for no fool _ever_ strayed so close to his person. "Show yourself!" rasped Zero, beating his wings in furious motions. "Show yourself or die where you stand!"

A dark cackle filled the air – so very monstrous . . . On the ground below a single Star Warrior froze in place as she felt the cackle penetrate her body.  
And she died on the spot.  
"I'm right here," said that voice, silky smooth and full of distrust. "Do stop beating your wings like that; here, I'll remove my cloak so you can see me." The black sheet was shed away - dark and sewn with sparkling white; Zero was unsure as to whether his uninvited companion had been wearing cloth or the night sky itself. Slowly, he bought his pounding wings to a halt, his blood red eye never parting from the creature's clawed hands, stroking smooth his cloak, or the giant glasses shielding from view the many secrets of evil. Zero needed no introduction from this man; he knew who his was on sight.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" said Nightmare conversationally. "The demons, I mean. They're my beloved children, you know? So well-behaved at that! See how well they do their chores? Look there." Nightmare extended a long, crooked finger across Zero, and pointed out a lone demon-beast – a giant cat of sorts, chasing after a crowd of school children. A Star Warrior screamed, and plunged his sword into the cat's hip, sprayed his armor in dripping scarlet. The monster roared its agony for the world to hear; it shook off the warrior and continued to chase the children.  
Nightmare laughed. "I ordered that one to ignore all Star Warriors and only chase youngsters. Ah, my beloved children . . . How you make me proud."

Certainly, the flavor of Nightmare's thrill did not contaminate Zero's meal. On the contrary, the pride made for a very refreshing side palate, in contrast to the discord. Not that Zero had any intention of mentioning such a thing, of course. He was always one to enjoy a solitary dinner. "Seems a waste of a demon, if you ask me," grunted Zero, not taking his eye off of the war. "What, you're sending it to kill little brats when it could be killing warriors? Some Emperor of Darkness you are."

A sigh fell from Nightmare's lips. "My silly friend," he drawled, patting Zero's back. "My goal isn't to destroy Dream Land. All the fun would go away! Don't you see that my child isn't killing those children?" He pointed again, and for the first time Zero noticed how the demon-cat herded the children into a building, kept them grounded as the war raged behind them. "Those children shall become my agents – my servants, if you will, ensuring that my laws are obeyed all across the galaxy. The universe too, soon enough." He patted Zero's back again, and pretended not to notice the goosebumps crawling over Zero's skin; he was not one who liked to be touched.  
"You set some very high goals." Zero shook away from Nightmare's hold

Another laugh left Nightmare's mouth. Another warrior died instantaneously. "Perhaps," he allowed, resting his chin on the back of his hands in great enjoyment of the show. "But if I don't have a goal in life then I won't feel like I've achieved anything."

"Tcha." Zero spat on the ground far below. "You're a fucking deity. Isn't that achievement enough?"

His words were a slap in the face; driving hard and fast across Nightmare's cheek and rising red to the surface. He flinched away, completely taken aback; he could not recall the last time someone had answered him back so fast. "My, someone has a sharp tongue," he whispered, his lips curling upwards with every ounce of enjoyment. Loyal his demons and agents may have been, but they were so submissive before him and Nightmare often found that quite boring. To see someone right beside him however, who looked into his eyes and challenged every word his said with absolutely no indication of fear . . . It set the blood beating in Nightmare's neck. _So refreshing . . . So exciting . . ._

Zero averted his gaze; his eyelid half closed in bored contempt. "Tcha," he said again. "No I don't. I'm just me."  
"Oh?" Nightmare raised an eyebrow. "And who might 'you' be?"

It took Zero a moment to realize that Nightmare was asking him his name. _Smartass._ He inwardly scoffed at Nightmare's careless grin. He did not care to share his name with Nightmare, or anyone else for that matter. "I'm here, enjoying the destruction."

"Good answer," Nightmare chuckled, who had not expected such a response. Extending two fingers he reached into the heart of the war and plucked out a demon. A lizard-like beast this time, and only half the size of Zero himself. Before its creator the beast's long tongue snaked out of it mouth and tenderly licked Nightmare's fingers, it body pressed low to the ground in total submission. "So kind of her," said Nightmare sweetly, stroking his darling creation along its spine. "You know, I rather like you, my friend," he spoke over his shoulder to Zero. "I don't want you to perish along with the idiot resistance. What d'you say you come join my ranks? I can feel your strength." Nightmare breathed deep, exposing himself to the darkness shrouding Zero's body. "There's much power in you . . . What an excellent demon you would be!"

Disgust flooded through Zero's body and ripped shudders throughout his skin. "Do _not_ group me in with your vile pets," he snarled, narrowing his hatred towards the beast submissively licking Nightmare's fingers still. "I fight for myself no one else. If killing Star Warriors benefited me I'd kill them." His eye lifted, and aimed his darkness towards Nightmare. "Just as I'd kill demons or even _you_ for my gain."

Blinking, taken aback once again, Nightmare lowered his precious demon back into the war. Separated from its creator it became full of rage again; screamed and returned to killing. High above, Nightmare's gaze collided with Zero Two's; both unafraid, unwilling to back down.  
And then, quite suddenly, Nightmare began to laugh. _"__Fantastic answer! Ha!_ Just another reason why I like you so!" He spluttered with laughter, rained death down upon the warriors below. "Wonderful reasoning," he purred sweetly. "I'll do my best to ensure your survival, my friend, but I'm sure you know that I'll also kill you in an instant, if it benefited me."

Zero nodded once. "I'd expect nothing less."

With their differences and honor mutually settled, Zero and Nightmare lapsed into a comfortable silence and watched the destruction together.


End file.
